Mariners have better chance for postseason with MLB playoff expansion

Raise your hand if you think the Mariners will make it to the postseason this year.

Hmm … I’m not seeing many hands. Yeah, it’s true: With big names and big payrolls in Texas and Anaheim, it’s not looking great for the Mariners in the American League West Division. I think most fans are just hoping the M’s finish above .500 this season.

But hey, Seattle does have a better chance of getting to the playoffs now. The MLB today announced that it is adding another Wild Card team for each league, raising the number of teams in the postseason from eight to 10.

Starting with this coming postseason, the two Wild Card teams in each league will play one game, with the winner advancing to the Division Series. (It’ll be kinda like the 1995 American League West playoff game in which the Mariners beat the Angels, but the two teams will be Wild Card teams.)

“The enthusiasm for the 10-team structure among our clubs, fans and partners has been overwhelming,” MLB Commissioner Bud Selig said in an announcement. “This change increases the rewards of a division championship and allows two additional markets to experience playoff baseball each year, all while maintaining the most exclusive postseason in professional sports.”

It’s the first change to the MLB postseason format since 1994, when baseball adopted the six-division, eight-team playoffs that started with the 1995 season.